Boulder County Democratic Party Platform 2020 Platform Action Plank: IX Gun Violence | Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we are now publishing some press releases in whole.

To the Boulder County Community;

It’s been a really hard week as we mourn our fellow Coloradans that died on Monday at the King Soopers in Boulder. We need each other now – for support – for finding our way forward to the work ahead of us.

It’s been affirming to hear from so many of you this week with your messages of caring and offers of help. So please continue to support each other and take care of yourself because we need to be strong for each other and continue to do the work of democracy.

Here are some resources that many be helpful from the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center:

Managing Distress

Suggestions for Parents

Tips for Survivors

And we thought you would like to see the Party Platform as it relates to Gun Violence. Our Platform is a statement of our shared values. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to work for change at the local, state and national level. See below and BCDP Platform

We also want to say how enormously proud we are of the leadership of Democrats we helped elect like Congressman Joe Neguse, State Senator Steve Fenberg, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty and many others who are showing strong leadership in these challenging times.

We will do our best to make sure your county party is as strong and smart and committed as you are for the work ahead.

Yours for the cause of democracy and an end to the epidemic of gun violence in America,

The Officers of the Boulder County Democratic Party

Raffi Mercuri, Chair

Emily Sandoval, Vice Chair Internal

Meghan Lukens, Vice Chair Capacity

Jason Sherry, Secretary

Carol Teal, Treasurer

Boulder County Democratic Party Platform
2020 Platform Action Plank: IX Gun Violence
Status: Approved | Last Updated 10/7/2019 | Public: Yes

Preamble

The Boulder County Democratic Party believes that guns must be regulated, and individuals should be required to take full responsibility for the safe storage and responsible use of firearms.

Statement of Principles

Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States and must be addressed as such.

We must take steps to address the epidemic of gun violence across our country.

Calls to Action

• We call on the state and federal government to require background checks, a 10-day waiting period, and a minimum age of 21 years for all prospective gun purchasers. No one on the TSA “no-fly list” shall be able to purchase, own, or manufacture a firearm.
• We call on our elected officials to establish a national gun ownership registry.
• We call on Congress to pass laws requiring safe storage for privately owned guns and ammunition.
• We call on Congress to pass laws, including civil liability, to require anyone who manufactures firearms and/or ammunition, including 3D printed firearms, to be licensed to do so.
• We call on local, state, and federal government to ban sale and private ownership of military-style assault weapons.
• We call on local, state, and federal government to ban the sale and private ownership of bump stocks and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
• We call on local, state, and federal government to ban the sale and private ownership of large caliber ammunition and armor-piercing bullets.
• We call on elected officials to give universities, schools, places of worship, places of business, and communities the right to regulate or restrict weapons on their “premises.”
• We call on Congress to remove impediments and provide funding for data collection and research analysis of data regarding gun violence by the Center for Disease Control and other public research groups.
• We call on state and local government to invest in data collection and research analysis of gun violence to better inform public policy.
• We call on officials at every level of government to institute voluntary buy-back programs for firearms.
• We call on Congress to pass red flag laws that allow courts to issue an order to temporarily remove firearms and the means to produce them from the homes of persons in crisis and at a demonstrated risk of harming themselves or others. These laws should prohibit the sale of additional firearms to such persons until the order is lifted, provided there is adequate due process for the removal of firearms from said persons in crisis. This include people under extreme risk orders.
• We call on law enforcement at all levels to enforce extreme risk orders (Red flag laws).
• We call on local governments to provide firearms storage centers for firearm owners who wish to temporarily store their weapons outside of their homes.